Hainan business deal: London – Singapore £1,500 return

I came across this business-class bargain on Flyertalk and did a bit of digging myself. It looks pretty good, so I thought I’d write it up.

• Operated by Hainan Airlines
• London – Singapore round trip, with a connection in Haikou (or Changsha)
• One free stopover each-way of up to seven days
• Business-class fare around £1,500

London – Singapore is a very popular route, and at this price it’s significantly cheaper than most other airlines, making it excellent value. The reverse direction is also available, though slightly more expensive. You can search dates on Google Flights, with availability from late December through early June.

You can add stopover(s) to your itinerary if you want to visit China on the way. Example:

As a visitor you probably don’t want to travel these dates though as it’s over China’s very hectic New Year period.

In addition to China’s visa-exemption and transit-without-a-visa programs, Hainan Province has their own visa waiver policy too which is very generous if you don’t intend to visit other regions in China. Haikou may not be that exciting, but Sanya (on the other end of the isle) is a very well developed beach resort destination.

Hainan Airlines’ business class should be quite solid. The long-haul segments book into R class, while the short-haul legs are in D class. For mileage earning, aside from Hainan’s own program, you could consider crediting to Alaska Airlines or Etihad.